Police on Tuesday arrested two people six months after the death of 71 people in a boat capsizing in the Karatoa river in Panchagarh.
The arrestees are Abdul Jabbar and Bachchu Mia, said Boda police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Sujoy Kumar Roy.
The OC said that the boat sinking incident took place on September 25, 2022. On February 27, Shafiqur Rahman, chief inspector of the Department of Shipping filed a case in the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court.
The accused in the case are - ghat lessee Abdul Jabbar, sailor Bachchu Mia and sailor Rabiul Islam. Among them, Abdul Jabbar and Bachchu Mia have been arrested.
According to the source of the case, the defendants are accused of carrying more than the capacity of the vessel considering the size and shape of the vessel, not having a valid registration and survey certificate of the vessel, operating the vessel without having a certified master, helmsman, sailor and greaser on the vessel, not having safety equipment and life-saving equipment as per the lease agreement and incompetence of the sailor.
Meanwhile, zilla parishad Chief Executive Officer Mohammad Saniul Quader said that preparations have been made to file a case.
A total of 71 people died after an engine boat carrying over 100 Hindu devotees, heading for a temple on the other side of the Karatoa River to perform Mahalaya rituals, sank near Auliar Ghat under Mareya union of Boda upazila in Panchagarh on September 25, 2022.